nic's recent activity
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Comment on Help choosing a new linux computer? in ~tech
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Comment on How the Golden Gate Bridge works in ~engineering
nic Link ParentOh no! I couldn't stop watching that first video. You think I have another solid hour to spare?Oh no!
I couldn't stop watching that first video.
You think I have another solid hour to spare?
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Comment on How the Golden Gate Bridge works in ~engineering
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 29 in ~society
nic LinkThe Supreme Court Just Rewrote the Constitution to Give Trump Terrifying New Powers The emergency docket is being used to overthrow decades of precedent, but it is doing it in an unprecedented...The Supreme Court Just Rewrote the Constitution to Give Trump Terrifying New Powers
The emergency docket is being used to overthrow decades of precedent, but it is doing it in an unprecedented manner, both in speed and scope. While eventually, these rulings can become precedent, they are not by themselves considered precedent, having not reasoning or even any analysis by lower courts.
In other words, watch how quickly the Supreme Court changes its tune if a Democrat president wants to stop a Republican congress by withholding foreign aid to Israel.
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Comment on Will an AI actress really become ‘the next Scarlett Johansson’? in ~movies
nic Link ParentInterest copyright question. Currently I thought you could not copyright AI generated content.Interest copyright question.
Currently I thought you could not copyright AI generated content.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 22 in ~society
nic Link ParentTrump Gets the Retribution He Sought, and Shatters Norms in the Process ...Trump Gets the Retribution He Sought, and Shatters Norms in the Process
An inexperienced prosecutor loyal to President Trump, in the job for less than a week, filed criminal charges against one of her boss’s most-reviled opponents.
She did so not only at Mr. Trump’s direct command, but also against the urging of both her own subordinates and her predecessor, who had just been fired for raising concerns that there was insufficient evidence to indict.
Heightening the break-glass moment, the felony charges against Mr. Comey, who stands accused of making false statements and obstructing justice, were rushed into court as Mr. Trump’s handpicked prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, hurried to beat the quickly approaching statute of limitations on Mr. Comey’s purported crimes.
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The push for the indictment trampled over the agency’s long tradition of maintaining distance from the White House and resisting political pressure, and it raised the prospect of further arbitrary prosecutions pushed by Mr. Trump against his enemies.
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Comment on I tried to protect my kids from the internet. Here’s what happened. in ~tech
nic Link ParentActually, what you say is true for network level controls, some cell phone providers augment that, you canalso whitelist on a macbook or windows machine directly (but that can be bypassed,) yet...Actually, what you say is true for network level controls, some cell phone providers augment that, you canalso whitelist on a macbook or windows machine directly (but that can be bypassed,) yet iOS offers full locked down control via Apple Configurator.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 15 in ~society
nic Link ParentThe Supreme Court ruled against trump with birthright so narrowly it was a token gesture. You don't see them doing the same with tariffs?The Supreme Court ruled against trump with birthright so narrowly it was a token gesture. You don't see them doing the same with tariffs?
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 15 in ~society
nic Link ParentThat's bullshit. It sounds plausible. I liked it when I first read it. But upon reflection, it is bullshit. The Supreme Court has overturned centuries of precedent to give Trump at least half of...That's bullshit. It sounds plausible. I liked it when I first read it. But upon reflection, it is bullshit.
The Supreme Court has overturned centuries of precedent to give Trump at least half of what he wants.
Let's take the firing of "independent" heads of government departments. When FDR wanted to fire Humphrey's Executor, the Supreme court said no.
The Senate, took this constitutional interpretation, and specifically legislated that presidents can't remove certain heads without cause.
The lower courts took this constitutional interpretation, and put nationwide blockers on Trumps ability to remove certain heads without cause.
The current Supreme Court said, nah, our new interpretation of the constitution says Trump can fire most heads. Except maybe Cook. Because Cook isn't political, Cook is financial. Which is referred to as making new law out of whole cloth. It's basically bullshit. But it is bullshit that benefits the wealthy.
In fact, the Supreme Court has decided that they are the ultimate "arbitrars" (my neologism for those who arbitrarily make up bullshit laws.)
They killed the Chevron Deference. Federal agencies no longer are domain experts. The courts no longer defer to the domain expertise of federal agencies. This was during Biden, and was bad for Biden.
They killed lower courts implementing nationwide injunctions. This was during Trump, and was good for Trump.
They killed Humphrey's Executor which protected independent agencies from arbitrary presidential removal. This occured during Trump, and was good for Trump.
The Supreme Court is quick to rule favorably for Republicans (Bush v Gore) and slow walks rulings that might be favorable for Democrats (delayed rulings plus lack of Chevron Deference basically killed Bidens new health and safety regulations, and stopped Biden from SAVEing the HEROEs attempt to cancel student loans.)
The Supreme Court slow walked the shit out of gerrymandering. Federal courts now lack authority to address partisan gerrymandering claims, with the bullshit idea that only States should resolve the gerrymandering that they created and benefit from.
Why do I stress this highly partisan tendency to slow walk rulings that might benefit Democrats, fast walk rulings that benefit Republicans/Trump, and prevaricate about rulings they aren't sure about?
First, Tariffs. It's total bullshit. None of this has anything to do with unfair trade practices. But by the time the courts come to the inevitable conclusion that presidents aren't constitutionally allowed to make up tariffs, Trump will have had years to use tariffs as an economic billy club. Then they will close the door, rule it unconstitutional, because god forbid they give the power of taxation to a Democrat.
Second, Birthright citizenship. I mean what the fuck? The 14th Amendment now only protects those who can get their case heard in time by the courts.
Third, the Supreme Court will slow walk this attack by the federal government on free speech. The 1st Amendment.
Lastly we have Cook and other previously independent department heads. Trump has already fired so many people. The damage is done. He got what he wanted. The Fed is even lowering rates. Don't tell me Trump didn't influence that.
Even if he only temporarily removes Cook, he will get more of what he wants.
But firing Cook might be a bridge too far for the Supreme Court. Not because Trump is running into "deep institutional resistance" to " to wholly abandon the rule of law on his behalf."
Trump is running into resistance from the Supreme Court, because if Trump gets complete power over the Fed, he will destroy the economy, which will piss off the true ruling class.
Thanks for sharing!
It's good to remember how slowly I am getting boiled!
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 15 in ~society
nic LinkTrump Firing Top Prosecutor for Failing to Invent Fake Crimes by FoesTrump Firing Top Prosecutor for Failing to Invent Fake Crimes by Foes
Trump is set to fire that top prosecutor precisely because he apparently will not cook the facts to make the original allegation against James stand
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Comment on How are Framework Laptops? in ~tech
nic Link ParentAhhhh, I may have overstated how much I replaced, I replaced the CPU, the keyboard, the memory, the drive. You can see the replacement steps here along with estimated difficulty. My brother in law...Ahhhh, I may have overstated how much I replaced, I replaced the CPU, the keyboard, the memory, the drive.
You can see the replacement steps here along with estimated difficulty.
My brother in law replaced the screen when I gifted the laptop. It was his first ever laptop repair. He said it was easy to follow the directions.
I have not had to replace the trackpad.
Most repairs are not difficult, they simply have more steps to follow.
The keyboard replacement was not so much as difficult as oh-my-god why-does-it-have-so-many-fucking-screws i-never-want-to-fucking-replace-another-framework-keyboard-in-my-entire-life.
The wireless card has a weirdly finicky and fragile looking connector I was worried about breaking.
Overall it's not that Framework is more repairable than any other laptop with screws instead of solder.
Framework simply documents all the replacement steps and if you are in one of the supported countries will ship you OEM parts.
I have replaced screens/ keyboards/ trackpads on other laptops and you are reliant on third party suppliers, and you are reliant on picking the right you tube video.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 15 in ~society
nic LinkAnatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches. Unreal levels of blatant corruption.Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches.
At the heart of their relationship are two multibillion-dollar deals. One involved a crypto company founded by the Witkoff and the Trump families that benefited both financially. The other involved a sale of valuable computer chips that benefited the Emirates economically.
Unreal levels of blatant corruption.
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Comment on How are Framework Laptops? in ~tech
nic LinkYou can read other reviews, here. I've replaced everything replaceable on the original 13, and contacted support twice. 5/5 stars. I prefer the macbook, my kid prefers the framework. -
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 1 in ~society
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Comment on FBI arrests US army veteran for ‘conspiracy’ over protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in ~society
nic LinkThe indictment was handed down two days after career prosecutor Richard Barker, the acting US attorney for eastern Washington state, resigned.
"I have made the very difficult decision to step down from the U.S. Attorney role and leave the Department of Justice."
"I am grateful that I never had to sign an indictment or file a brief that I didn’t believe in. "
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Comment on Moser's Frame Shop: I am an AI hater in ~tech
nic Link ParentI'm in the pro camp and I read it. It's interesting to read alternate points of views, and concerns I may not have internalized or even thought of.I'm in the pro camp and I read it.
It's interesting to read alternate points of views, and concerns I may not have internalized or even thought of.
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Comment on Does anyone have a digg invite code I can get ? in ~tech
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Comment on Does anyone have a digg invite code I can get ? in ~tech
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Comment on Always invest in good tires in ~transport
nic LinkYou were running bald tires. This is bad. Keep an eye on the tread. Or get your oil change by a place that also does tires.You were running bald tires.
This is bad.
Keep an eye on the tread.
Or get your oil change by a place that also does tires.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 18 in ~society
nic Link ParentAt a surface level, Gavin is soooo unlikeable. He completely fails the "would I want to sit down and have a beer with him" vibe check. The reason this mockery is so effective, is everyone knows...At a surface level, Gavin is soooo unlikeable.
He completely fails the "would I want to sit down and have a beer with him" vibe check.
The reason this mockery is so effective, is everyone knows Trumps twitter diarrhea is the polar opposite of Gavin's natural communication style.
The reason this should only be temporary is that Trumps teams are already mocking Gavin for having no authentic personality of his own. And they are right. Gavin lacks any noticeable charisma or personality.
As much as you or I might find Trumps personality odious, you can't deny he reeks of it.
I am glad Gavin is leading a vigorous opposition, I am simply sad that he is the only one.
I like the Framework16 for upgradeability. Don't forget to get the optional GPU.
You will need to be comfortable creating bootable usb sticks in order to install Linux/ update the BIOS.
It does run a little hot and the fan is loud, but otherwise A+.